Aerial projectile game apparatus with trampoline



June 14, 1966 p, ssgu ETAL 3,256,021

AERIAL PROJECTILE GAME APPARATUS WITH TRAMPOLINE Original Filed July 18, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 B INVENTORS GEORGE P NISSEN LAWRENCE H. CONOVER /J-M f. CLAW,

ATTORNEY June 14, 1966 G. P. NISSEN ETAL AERIAL PROJECTILE GAME APPARATUS WITH TRAMPOLINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 18, 1962 lb INVENTORS RGE F? NISSEN GEO E H. CONOVER ATTORNEY FIG LAWRENC MM 2.

June 14, 1966 G. P. NISSEN ETAL AERIAL PROJECTILE GAME APPARATUS WITH TRAMPOLINE Original Filed July 18, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IINVENTORS GEORGE F? NISSEN LAWRENCE H. CONOVER BY f /A4WA- f- I FIG 4 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,256,021 AERIAL PROJECTILE GAME APPARATUS WITH TRAMPOLINE George P. Nissen and Lawrence H. Conover, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, assignors to Nissen Corporation, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Continuation of application Ser. No. 210,861, July 18, 1962. This application July 10, 1964, Ser. No. 381,872

6 Claims. (Cl. 27395).

This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 210,861, filed July 18, 1962, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to apparatus for recreation, and particularly to novel apparatus for use in conjunction with a trampoline.

A typical trampoline comprises a horizontal, rebounding bed of generally rectangular shape aflixed at its margins within a surrounding frame. The aflixment may be nonresilient if the bed itself is a panel of resilient or stretchable fabric, or it may be of a resilient nature when the bed itself is nonresilient. In the latter case, which is preferred, the bed is constituted of spaced, interwoven strips of suitable material and the required resiliency is provided by suitable, tensionally resilient supports.

There are two types .of trampoline installations: one, where the bed frame is supported by an appropriate base consisting of legs and braces or the like, is used particularly indoors; the other, where no base support is employed, is adapted to outdoor use over a pit,- for example, in which case the bed frame may be supported on wooden bolsters about the margin of the pit, the depth of the latter somewhat exceeding the maximum deflection of the bed. Although equallyapplicable to both types of installations, the present invention, for concise presentation, is illustrated in the drawings without any supporting base.

The present invention provides a resilient panel or backstop inclining upwardly from immediately adjacent each end of the bed of a single trampoline. Each backstop may be constructed to achieve its resiliency in the same manner as the horizontal trampoline bed, except that at the lower end of each backstop panel immediately adjacent its respective end of the bed means are provided which close the gap therebetween while at the same time permitting deflection of either the bed or the backstop independently of the other. One form of such closing means is illustrated in the accompanying drawings to which reference may now be had.

FIGURE 1, consisting of three views,1a, 1b, and 1c, is a perspective view of a typical trampoline with apparatus incorporating the present invention assembled thereon, a plane A-B separating views In and 1b, and a plane C-D separating the views 111 and FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view showing the manner in which the bed of the trampoline and the backstop panels may besecured to their respective frames;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1a; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view showing further 'details of the means bywhich the backstop panels are secured to their respective ends of the bed.

The typical trampoline'disclosed in the drawings com prises generally a horizontally disposed rectangular metal frame 11 spacedly surrounding the trampoline bed 12 which in turn is fashioned from interwoven, spaced strips 12:: of suitable material. As previously mentioned, bed frame 11 may be supported upon the margins of a pit or upon a suitable base (not shown). Supporting bed 12 within frame 11 are a multitude of laterally spaced, tensionally resilient supports 13, which may be coil springs, rubber cables or otherwise, suitably connected at their outer ends to frame 11 and at their inner ends Along each side member 18 of frame 11 an additional frame member 19 is provided, cantilevered horizontally outwardly from its side member 18, and equipped midway of its length with a pair of upper and lower horizontal base plates 20 clamping the adjacent portions of frame members 18 and 19 therebetween. Each pair of plates 20 provides a seat for an upright male insert 21 secured thereto which in turn receives thereover the lower end of a vertical tubular column 22 removably retained thereon by means of ahand locking screw 23. Frustoconical skirts 24 neatly finish the joints between base plates 20 and columns 22. Each of the latter in turn slidably receives a pair of vertically spaced arms 25, 26 extending horizontally from each side of its column 22 longitudinally of bed 12. Arms 25, 26 carry a pair of inverted, U-shaped frames 28, disposed on each side of columns .22 and straddling bed 12. Midway along the horizontal portion 28 of each frame 27 is suspended one end of a horizontal tunnel structure 29 such that its axis extends longitudinally of bed 12 and defines a path for the passage of a missile through tunnel 29. Tunnel 29 may be of the form and structure further illustrated and described in the co-pending application of George P. Nissen, Serial No. 341,298, filed January 30, 1964, now Patent 3,201,126. The respective areas bounded by frames 27-are closed, except at the ends of tunnel 29, by nets 30 secured thereto, thus providing a barrier as sembly 31 carried by columns 22 and transversely dividing bed 12 into two playing zones on the opposite sides thereof. As explained in the foregoing patent, the height of columns 22 must be sufiicient so that tunnel 29 is at all times above the reach of a player standing stationary on bed 12. In order to accomplish the latter, the height of barrier assembly 31 above bed 12 is made adjustable by means of locking screws, operated by hand wheels 32, incorporated into each lower arm bracket 25.

Adjacent each end of bed 12, an inverted U-shaped backstop frame 35, secured at its lower ends to side members 18 of bed frame 11, inclines upwardly and outwardly therefrom to just below the height of the axis of tunnel 29. Within each backstop frame 35 a backstop panel 36 of the same character as bed 12 is resiliently suspended along its top and side margins by means of tensionally resilient supports 37 similar to those supporting bed 12 within its frame 11. As is apparent from the drawings, the height and inclination of each backstop frame 35 and its resilient panel 36 is such that a player may run partway thereup in order to intercept a missile thrown through tunnel 29. Panels 36, in turn, have suflicient strength in order to support a player so running thereup since, as mentioned, panels 36 are of. a construction similar to that of bed 12. The outer end 38 of each backstop frame 35 is supported by means of a pair of laterally spaced legs 39, the spacing of the latter being substantially less than the width of frames 35, fitted with suitable floor engaging flanges 40 at their lower ends and adjus-tably telescoped at their upper ends into tubular members 41, the latter being hingedly secured at 42 at their upper ends to the outer end 38 of its backstop frame 35. The legs of an inverted U-shaped frame 43 are adjustably telescoped in turn into the upper ends of each pair of tubular members 41 and the area bounded by each frame 43 and the outer end 38 of its respective backstop frame 35 is closedby a suitable net 44 in order to define a secondary target intersecting the extended axis of tunnel 29. The exposed portions of frame 11 are covered by suitable protective mats 45, those along side members 18 and 19 being carried part way up backstop frames 35, and the outer ends 38 of the latter are likewise provided with similar mats 46.

It is desirable to connect the lower end of each backstop panel 36 to its adjacent end of bed 12 so that neither the players nor the missile or ball used in conjunction wih the apparatus can pass between the aforesaid ends during play. The latter event is especially likely when either bed 12 or a backstop panel 36 is deflected relative to the other by the weight of a player rebounding from one or the other, inasmuch as at such time a gap of material size momentarily opens between the two. On the other hand, the connection obviously must be such as not to interfere with the deflection of bed 12 or a backstop panel 36 relative to the other. The requisite connection is achieved by a tuck 50 comprising a length of suitable fabric or other flexible material stitched at one end 51 along the entire lower margin of each backstop panel 36, carried up behind the latter as at 52, folded over on itself as at 53, being suspended from its adjacent backstop frame 35 at the opposite ends of fold 53 by light, extensible coil springs 54, and finally carried down again as at 55 to the adjacent end of bed 12. The remaining end 56 of each tuck 50 is preferably secured to its adjacent end of bed 12 by a number of tapes 57 laterally spaced along and extending from each end 56 down through the adjacent interstices between the webbing 12a of bed 12 and then outwardly toward the adjacent end of frame 11, being removably secured, as by D-rings 58, to the hooks 16 of the adjacent tensional supports 13 (see FIGURES 3 and 4). Accordingly, if the length of tuck 50 is suflicient, any gap between bed 12 and backstop panels 36 is always closed, no matter what deflection of either may occur during play, without substantially impeding the freedom of either to deflect relative to the other since springs 54 need be only strong enough to maintain fold 53 neatly above bed 12 when the later and panels 36 are stationary. At the same time, panels 36 can be easily and quickly detached from bed 12, if necessary, owing to D-rings 58.

We claim:

1. In recreational apparatus including a single trampoline having a horizontal, resilient and generally rectangular bed, an upright barrier straddling said bed transversely thereof and dividing said bed into a pair of playing zones on opposite sides of said barrier, and a tunnel assembly carried by said barrier defining a path for the passage of a missile therethrough longitudinally of said bed at an elevation above the reach of a player standing stationary on said bed, the combination therewith of a pair of backstops inclining upwardly and outwardly from adjacent the respective transverse ends of said bed, each of said backstops including a resilient backstop panelpositioned effective to prevent a player in the playing zone adjacent said panel from falling outwardly beyond the adjacent end of said bed and to rebound said player back into said zone and toward said barrier, the height and inclination of said backstops and the strength of said backstop panels thereof being sufficient to permit a player to run thereup in order to intercept a missile thrown along said path.

2. The device of claim 1 including a flexible sheet connected to each of said backstops and to the adjacent transverse ends of said bed effective to prevent passage of a missile between the lower ends of said panels and their respective transverse ends of said bed during downward deflection of the latter relative to said panels, said connections to said backstops and bed additionally rendering said deflection of said bed ends independent of said panels.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein each of said sheets is resiliently connected to and closely behind its respective one of said backstops above the lower transverse end of said panel thereof, the lowermost portion of said sheet being unyieldingly secured along and to its adjacent transverse end of said bed, whereby any gap between said panel and bed ends owing to downward deflection of said bed end is closed by said sheet while at the same time permitting said deflection independently of said panel.

4. Trampoline apparatus comprising a single, generally rectangular trampoline bed resiliently suspended Within and from a spacedly surrounding bed frame, a vertical barrier straddling said bed transversely thereof and defining adjacent ends of a pair of adjacent performing zones of generally equal area on said bed, said barrier having a tunnel mounted thereon defining a portion of a horizontal missile path extending longitudinally of said bed at an elevation above the reach of a performer standing stationary on said bed, a pair of backstops inclining upwardly and outwardly along the transverse ends of said bed to below the height of said missile path in order to define the opposite ends of said performing zones, said backstops including backstop panels resiliently suspended within and spacedly from a pair of backstop frames of inverted U-shape secured at their lower ends to said bed frames, said panels being effective to rebound a performer therefrom toward said barrier, the height and inclination of said backstops and the strength of said backstop panels thereof being sufficient to permit a performer to run thereup in order to intercept a missile thrown along said path, and flexible means effective to substantially close any opening between the lower ends of said backstop panels and said bed ends arising from deflection of said bend ends by a performer bouncing on said bed while allowing deflection of said bed and backstop panels independently of each other.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein each of said backstop frames is provided with a pair of laterally spaced supporting legs secured at their upper ends adjacent the upper end of said frame and a barrier carried by said legs and extending upwardly therefrom effective to intercept said missile path.

6. The device of claim 4 wherein said closing means for each of said backstop panels comprises a length of fabric resiliently connected to said backstop above the lower end of said panel thereof, said fabric extending downwardly therefrom closely behind said panel and having the lower end thereof fixed to the adjacent transverse end of said bed, said resilient connection being effective to maintain said fabric in elevated position behind said backstop while said bed end is undeflected and to permit .downward deflection of said bed end independently of said backstop panel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,590,049 3/1952 Sidlinger 272 3,116,809 1/1964 Nissen 182-224 3,145,992 8/1964 McClung 273 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN RECREATIONAL APPARATUS INCLUDING A SINGLE TRAMPOLINE HAVING A HORIZONTAL, RESILIENT AND GENERALLY RECTANGULAR BED, AN UPRIGHT BARRIER STRADDLING SAID BED TRANSVERSELY THEREOF AND DIVIDING SAID BED INTO A PAIR OF PLAYING ZONES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BARRIER, AND A TUNNEL ASSEMBLY CARRIED BY SAID BARRIER DEFINING A PATH FOR THE PASSAGE OF A MISSILE THERETHROUGH LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BED AT AN ELEVATION ABOVE THE REACH OF A PLAYER STANDING STATIONARY ON SAID BED, THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A PAIR OF BACKSTOPS INCLINING UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM ADJACENT THE RESPECTIVE TRANSVERSE ENDS OF SAID BED, EACH OF SAID BACKSTOPS INCLUDING A RESILIENT BACKSTOP PANEL POSITIONED EFFECTIVE TO PREVENT A PLAYER IN THE PLAYING ZONE ADJACENT SAID PANEL FROM FALLING OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE ADJACENT END OF SAID BED AND TO REBOUND SAID PLAYER BACK INTO SAID ZONE AND TOWARD SAID BARRIER, THE HEIGHT AND INCLINATION OF SAID BACKSTOPS AND THE STRENGTH OF SAID BACKSTOP PANELS THEREOF BEING SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT A PLAYER TO RUN THEREUP IN ORDER TO INTERCEPT A MISSILE THROWN ALONG SAID PATH. 